8 organizing tips for busy moms

Keeping your home organized will allow you and your children to be more productive.

Got kids? Are you excited about the upcoming school year? Or are you filling up with anxiety and concern about how your family will adjust to the new routine? Exhale! Getting your children off to the best start actually begins long before the first day of class. The best way to take a little stress of is to read these 8 organizing tips for busy moms and find the best routine for your family.

As a busy mom of two small boys, I understand the potential for a chaotic morning. What works best for my family is to follow an established routine. I’ve learned that my kids have a great day when we are organized and ready the night before. It’s a very big challenge, but it is tougher to get back on track than to stay on track.

To some parents it may seem as if your children spend more time and energy on what to wear to school than what to do to prepare for school. Sundays are an excellent time to lay out five outfits for the week. Spending 30 minutes on Sunday to prepare your wardrobe for the week will give you more time in the mornings to eat a good breakfast, exercise, do a quick review for an exam, or simply enjoy a little more time with your family.

Every family should have a “command center” or designated station with a corkboard, a dry erase board, a calendar, and hooks for hanging backpacks, keys and jackets. These stations are helpful in keeping everyone moving in the right direction. Important papers from school can go on the corkboard so everyone is kept in the loop. Large calendars help the entire family know what time the music recital is or what day the big science project is due. Knowledge is power!

If you have a preschooler and find you are collecting an excess of artwork, I recommend an organizing product called the C.A.B.B. This binder is large enough to protect and store whatever your budding artist brings home.

And kids need a specific space to do homework. Personalize it, categorize it, and remember to keep it simple! To help my kids keep their space neat and tidy, I bought the Husky Bucket Jockey at Home Depot for just under eight dollars. This organizer has 30 pockets to hold everything from pencils to scissors and glue. Functional and affordable, this item is great for a small space.

Homework and reading are a major part of how your child will prepare for school. The more organized their workspace is, the less time it will take for them to complete assignments, or at least get started! Teaching your kids to be organized will save everyone time and energy.

Making lunch for the next day is something we do while making dinner. I keep a basket in the pantry with easy to grab goodies and another bin in the refrigerator for easy access to items like cheese sticks and apples. As my kids get older, they can make their own lunches and get their own snacks. In the meantime, they are in training!

Once the clothes are in order, the lunches are made, and the homework is done, it is time to decompress, or in this electronic world we live in, disconnect! Disconnecting helps pave the way for bedtime. After the electronics get tucked in we begin to get ready for bed with a bath.

We keep a small basket with Epsom salt and essential oils, like lavender, near the bathtub. It requires a little planning and effort, but these pieces of our routine pay off big, especially once little heads hit the pillow! Relaxing before bed time is helpful in getting a good nights sleep.

They say it takes 21 days for something to become a habit. As your family starts to get back into the routine of a busy school year, consider the loose schedule of dinner at 6 p.m., decompressing and disconnecting between 7 and 8 p.m., and bedtime at 9 p.m. Organizing and time management are learned, and in order for you to be good at it, you need to practice them daily. It sounds like climbing a mountain, but trust me, the view is well worth it!!